Nike Receives Major Backlash After Latest Jeremiah Smith News

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith made a decision that could have a huge impact on the sports world.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a first down catch during the second half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ohio State star wide receiver made a big decision, albeit a personal decision, recently. He's one of the more marketable players in college football, if not the most marketable as a big-time wide receiver for the Buckeyes.

Both Nike and Adidas were vying for his signature on the dotted line for an apparel deal, but ultimately, Smith spurned Nike in favor of the three stripes.

As mentioned, it was personal for Smith because he grew up wearing Adidas shoes.

Not everybody took the news in stride, though, as evidenced by the reaction of former Oklahoma State and then NFL wide receiver Dez Bryant.

For his part, Bryant thought the news that Nike lost out on Adidas for one of the top athletes in the world was unfathomable.

"Nike [is] about to lose all credibility. How did they lose Jeremiah Smith to Adidas?" he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Nike about to lose all credibility How did they lose Jeremiah Smith to adidas?

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) July 2, 2025

Bryant spent a majority of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, so he does know a bit about branding. Everything the Cowboys did and do is about branding. They're basically the Ohio State of the NFL world.

Where Bryant is wrong in suggesting that Nike is going to lose credibility, though, because the "shoosh" has plenty of elite athletes representing it. That's a list that's highlighted by athletes like LeBron James and Rafael Nadal.

Still, it is a talking point that Nike has a 15-year, $252 million apparell deal with Ohio State that was signed in 2018 and OSU's most notable athlete is going to be rocking Adidas.

It may even go deeper than that, too. For Bryant, this is a sign that Adidas is making up ground on Nike from a popularity standpoint amongst athletes.

Adidas coming for the #1 spot https://t.co/2EoXPdUyWp

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) July 2, 2025

It will be interesting to see the talking points that come out of this decision by Smith. Either way, it proves that he's absolutely a "mover and shaker" in the world of college athletics and sports in general.